Third
Yoshibon's Third is a comic published by Sega of Japan in the Sega Players Enjoy Club (SPEC), which was an official fan club magazine and newsletter. Third had three chapters published before the magazine was discontinued in 1993. Characters *Rudy Ashley - A mysterious young boy that does not remember anything about his life. He only knows that he must seek out a Neitype named Neithird and bring her to Vahal Fortress. He unites with her and Duolos but they are then attacked by robot soldiers. *Neithird - The strongest hunter on the planet Motavia, Neithird does not have memories of most of her life. She was raised by a kind old man who she regards as her father. She sees an opportunity to find out who she is upon learning of Rudy's strange predicament. *Duolos - Fellow hunter who travels with Neithird. Although not as warmongering as his numan companion, he does assist the team when they find themselves in danger. Chaz third.png|Rudy Ashley|link=Chaz Ashley Neithird bust.png|Neithird|link=Neithird Duolos third.png|Duolos|link=Duolos Story The year is AW 1423, almost 200 years following the destruction of Mother Brain by a group of terrorists led by Motavian Agent Rolf. A young boy with no recollection of most of his life beyond his name and his mission runs into a group of hunters named Neithird and Duolos. Neithird, who refers to herself simply as Third, is the most powerful hunter on the planet Motavia. She has earned such a reputation that she can seemingly obtain whatever she wants through odd jobs with the Hunter's Guild, although what she desires the most is to learn about her past. Her partner, Duolos, travels alongside her, although he is not as willing to through himself into danger as Third is. The group is suddenly attacked by a vagrant ship. Right when it seemed like its machine gun firepower would decimate them, they are suddenly teleported to an alley to safety. During the teleportation, Third and Duolos experience a dream. Rudy is asleep in a pod when he suddenly hears someone telepathically urging him to wake up. The presence never explains whom or what it is but it tells the young boy to listen carefully to his mission. Rudy is to locate a Neitype creature, seize her, and then return to Vahal Fortress. Rudy yells out to the presence, asking who it is and, for that matter, who he is. And then everyone wakes up. Duolos weakly asks where everyone is before hurling, experiencing side effects of travelling by the power of Ryuker. Third explains that it is Piata but she cannot explain how they got there. She then glances at Rudy, who is feeling great fatigue for casting a high level technique, and mentions that perhaps he is responsible for helping them escape their tormentors. After resting for some time, Third, now carrying the child, leads Duolos to her house. Third lets Rudy rest in bed while she makes small talk with Duolos about what she knows of her past. Duolos notices a picture of an elderly man and inquires of who he might be. Third explains that she does not remember anything before the man, a human, took her in to live with him. She says that she does not know who she is like Rudy, and upon her uttering those words, Duolos asks her if she had the same dream. They realize that what they experienced during Ryuker was one of Rudy's memories. The man tactlessly asks if Third is not thinking of bringing the child with them on their journey. Third smiles, noticing that Rudy has been awake and listening to their conversation, and says to the child directly that she promises she will stay with the boy. She thinks that he may lead to a clue of her own past, and so tells him that they will find their pasts together. At the same time elsewhere, a man gets killed by sniper fire to his forehead. The culprits appear to be mysterious robot soldiers that have been following the trio. Third rings the Hunter's Guild, explaining that she had to leave town suddenly and was wondering if they could do her a favor. The line is then cut. Third senses that the soldiers have found them and are coming for them. She quickly explains to Duolos that they are responsible for killing her father and so she regards all of them as her enemies. Duolos attempts to sneak away, but, since they are trapped anyway, Third throws him an expensive gun as an incentive to help her out. The soldiers sneak in front of the door and wait for an opportunity. Suddenly, the door is smashed out from the inside, decapitating one of the robots. From the rubble of the doorway emerges the numan in full battle armor. She brandishes her laser claws and eagerly announces, "It's battle time!" Canonicity The comic Third was created by Phantasy Star IV character designer, Yoshibon, for the Sega Players Enjoy Club in 1990. This work was published after Phantasy Star II and was used as the basis for creating Phantasy Star IV, a video game released in 1993. The comic was never finished since the fan club magazine was discontinued; the final chapter ends abruptly after a swarm of robot soldiers attempt to surprise the trio at Third's house. An official prequel to Phantasy Star IV was released in the form of a drama CD two years later in 1995. Titled Phantasy Star Memorial Drama CD ~Sealed Memories~, the drama takes place before the events of the fourth game detailing the fateful encounter of young Chaz, Rudy Ashley's localized name, with a numan named Nei. Because we never learn the fates of Third, Duolos, or Rudy from this comic, it is uncertain what this story would have lead to in the development of the characters beyond the story acting as a prototype for a new Phantasy Star title. External Links *Fringes of Algo *Skyman's website *The Phantasy Star Pages Category:Books